justine202

Hi and please forgive me if I make no sense.

My daughter (who is currently 17) wishes to go and spend some time living in Australia with her dad who moved out there 12 years ago. He become a fully fledged citizen about 3 years ago having remarried an Australian and has his own home and full time job. She won't go until she is 18 as she has studying to finish so my question is can she claim any form of citizenship through her dad or will she have to apply as an individual?

BritInParis

In order for someone to claim Australian citizenship by descent that person would require a parent who was an Australian citizen at the time of their birth. If your daughter is 17 and her father only became an Australian citizen three years ago then she wouldn't be eligible for Australian citizenship by descent.

She may be interested in a Working Holiday visa instead.

verystormy

She will not be eligible for citizenship. However, she would be eligible for a working holiday visa. This would allow her to live and work for 12 months in Oz (though can only work for one employer for a max of 6 months). If she completed certain regional work, she could then be eligible for a second year.

msmyrtle

Would he (the father) be willing to sponsor her for a child visa?

justine202

Thank you so much for the kind responses! Msmyrtle I can't imagine why he wouldn't sponsor her although not sure what this would involve on his part?

rammygirl

I guess it would be possible, but once she is over 18 then he would need to prove she was dependent on him which might be difficult. These visas are not cheap either. You need to read the detail in the link provided.
This is a PR visa for those wanting to migrate to Australia, if she really only wants to visit then she can do that on tourist visas.
She will only need another visa if she wants to live and/or work in Australia.

MarkHoath

She should definitely be applying for a Child Visa before she turns 18, as once granted it should be relatively easy to renew it with RRV's indefinitely provided her father remains in Australia.

Scotty1

Her father should sponsor her for a child visa, but this needs to happen before she is 18. This will take several months to be granted. She can then move to Australia and live for as long as she wants. If she spends at least two years here, and in a few other circumstances, she can get visa allowing her to return at some point, were she to go back to the uk. This is a far better option for her giving her choices about how long to stay here, work entitlements and healthcare. She cannot get citizenship through her father at this point, she would need to get it in her own right, by living here for 4 years on a PR visa. It is much more expensive and involves more paperwork than a working holiday visa but is she has any thought of living here, it is a much better option.